1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns an automatic machine for fitting flexible seals, in particular for fitting an external seal into a groove in an opening frame of a window or French window. The machine comprises a loading table, a seal storage device and a device for fitting and cutting the seal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An opening frame of a window or French window made from wood, plastics material, aluminum or the like usually comprises two horizontal crossmembers and vertical uprights forming a frame which receives on its external periphery fittings for articulating it to or supporting it on a fixed frame. This opening frame may comprise elements which overlap the fixed frame. The uprights and crossmembers incorporate internal shoulders adapted to receive the glazing unit or the like and external openings to receive various fittings. These fittings (espagnolette bolt components and the like) are fixed into openings in the external peripheral edge of the opening frame.
It is necessary to provide seals in openings between the fixed frame and the opening frame and between the glazing unit and the shoulders. If the glazing unit is in multiple parts it is also necessary to fit seals to the members which cover the edges of the glazed parts. These are beads and the like which fasten the glazing unit(s) to the opening frame.
In the conventional way the seal between the opening and fixed frames is fixed to the interior peripheral edge of the fixed frame. However, it is advisable to fit the seal as far as possible from the exterior plane of the fixed frame, which is the plane exposed to inclement weather, in order to obtain a so-called decompression chamber between the opening and closing frames. To avoid excessively imposing fixed frames and the need to groove them to fit the seal it became necessary to fit the seal onto the exterior peripheral edge of the opening frame. Window manufacturers are adopting this solution to an ever increasing extent as it produces windows offering better performance in bad weather while economizing in the raw materials from which the opening and fixed frames are made. This also makes it possible to use the same profile extrusions and like members.
The seal fitted to the exterior edge of the opening frame may be flexible or rigid, although it is never extruded in situ as is possible for the glazing unit seal can be. A rigid seal can be fitted manually without any particular difficulty, but requires preparation by cutting it to lengths corresponding to those of the frame. Although flexible seals have advantages in terms of their presentation, applying them manually raises significant problems: they tend to be applied slowly and in an irregular way because of the difficulty of inserting the seal into the groove. As a result, the labour portion of the overall unit cost is high.
In the present state of the art the opening frame to be fitted with seals is placed on a horizontal jig. This jig is provided with manual or automatic frame clamping means. If the jig is immobile and fixed to the ground it is necessary to leave sufficient room for an operator to fit the seal into the groove while moving around the frame, whether by hand or using appropriate tools; if it is not possible to move around the frame because of the adjoining workstations then two operators are needed to fit the seal, one on each side of the jig. If the jig is mobile on a support fixed to the ground then the amount of room required is reduced and one person can carry out the fitting in all cases; on the other hand, this type of installation requires a more complicated infrastructure and is more difficult to use. Seal fitters generally use a tool in the form of a manual roller or a kind of pneumatic chisel.
Also, the seal is not always paid out from a roll stored near the jig and it is sometimes precut, either by the supplier or at the point of use. This has the disadvantages of being extremely costly and of increasing the likelihood of errors occurring.
The precutting of seals has led to the development of automatic cutting machines. In addition to cutting seals to length, these machines can cut the corners. Previously the seal was cut to the length of the frame sides and was interrupted at the corners. Today the seal for an opening frame can be precut in one piece.
It is also noteworthy that standard practice in the industry called for the opening frames to be fitted out when complete. Nowadays it is very common for the crossmembers and the uprights to be fitted with their seals before they are assembled together. This makes it possible to achieve a higher degree of automation of the assembly line, it being possible to fit the seals linearly and semi-automatically. In this case the seal is discontinuous around the periphery of the assembled frame, however.
An object of the present invention is to remedy these disadvantages by proposing a machine comprising means for simultaneously cutting and fitting a flexible seal to an assembled frame, all of these operations being entirely automated irrespective of the parameters characterizing the frame (shape, length, cross-section of crossmembers and uprights, etc). It is particularly remarkable in that it combines at a single installation the fitting and the cutting of the seal, the type of frame at the workstation having been determined beforehand, after measuring its exact dimensions and transmitting these to the seal fitting carriage. The result is a significant increase in productivity and flexibility. It also makes the fitting of the seal into the groove in the frame more reliable and regular.
It is particularly intended to be integrated into a general frame finishing installation. It comprises a frame feed, referencing and measuring system, a gantry resting on the ground with a two-axis carriage, a seal fitting and cutting device and a system for paying out the seal from a spool. It enables the seal to be fitted automatically to three or four sides of the frame; feeding to the station, referencing, measuring and identification of the frames are automated.